extra hour. in addition to the fact we've got rain that is sticking around. it will make for a pessimistic start but please, try to hold on to the hopes that the second half of the week is going to be so much better. and it will. we'll get through this morning with the showers lingering. more on to the eastern shore. gusty winds up to 30 miles per hour. not a please anlt day but clearing -- not a pleasant day but clearing late tomorrow. and warmer wednesday, thursday and friday. on maryland's most powerful doppler radar, four additional sweeps across the chesapeake, making for five total across the area. we have pretty hefty rains now pushing through baltimore. let's do a two-hour time lapse and show you how we're looking at that rain dropping out of the north, look at the yellows and oranges. that is heavy rain coming out of hunt valley. coming down through cockeysville and oregon ridge. it's passing on through owings mills and pikesville. towson, we're getting it, overlea and from partialville and partialing through downtown. if you're in canton or frill -- federal hill, this heavy rain is heading in your direction.

we have rain returning over towards howard county as well. not a pleasant morning. it's wet and it will be windy at timings. we're mid-40s and we're pretty much going to stay there, 48 this afternoon. 6:01. the high water and flooding a problem in elkton. you'll see delaware avenue closed at white hall road. and the roads around our area are pretty wet as well. still a couple of accidents in baltimore county, essex, still a crash lingering, rossville boulevard and mace avenue. and parkville at wilson and willoughby roads. in baltimore city you'll see police activity on pratt street approaching president street. it's blocking two lanes. as we peek at the drive times, not too bad, really, major roads pretty clean. jfx between northern parkway to st. paul street, it will take you five minutes. 95 southbound from the beltway down towards the 895 split, still a three-minute ride. on 95 southbound between the 895 split all the way to the fort mchenry toll plaza, only five minutes so far.

back to you. 6:01. police are going to tell us more this morning about what they found last night on druid park lake drive. they got a call, came out to the 700 block and found a bag. when they opened up that bag they found a baby inside and it was not alive. all we know now is police are still trying to locate the mother. seems our area missed out on the brunt of that massive system that caused major problems in the northeast. that's not to say we didn't see serious flooding over the weekend. a road had to be closed in dundalk. also three people are recovering after being rescued from their car in southern anne arundel county. 6:02. the maryland zoo is back open and the residents there are ready to see some visitors. after a brutal winter, the staff at the zoo has been slowly getting the place back in tip top shape. this year, along with the normal attractions visitors can expect some new sites. the maryland zoo in baltimore is the third oldest zoo in the united states. it's internationally known for

its contributions and conservation as well as research. 6:02. when he left st. francis we knew the kind of player reggieholes could be but what a player he could be at morgan. >> he broke the all-time scoring mark and now looking to do some damage in the ncaa tournament. here's linda so with the morgan bears. >> reporter: they want to tear it up this friday. morgan state tips off at noon in buffalo against number two seed west virginia. the players and coach were dancing up a storm after learning they would be going to the big dance. saturday's win over south carolina state secured them a spot. this is the second year in a row the bears have made it to the ncaa. the coach is credited with turning the team around in just four years at morgan state. so were the four seniors leading the young team. >> i tested the water last year. it was a great experience, but i'm looking for a better result this year. they told me it would be a good experience going out there but i'm going to nervous, but we just got to play to win. >> reporter: last year morgan

state lost in the first round. coming up, the secret weapon they have now that may make a huge difference. in the studio, linda so, abc2 news. >> let's if to the bracke -- let's go to the bracket. it's going to be tough but hey, and as for the terps, going to the midwest region, taking on number 13 houston. that tipoff is late friday night. 9:40. then what happens is georgetown is going to head up to providence. what we're trying to do is have our worlds collide. georgetown, maryland, wouldn't be bad, huh? a little sweet 16 matchup from 2001? so terps and and morgan, get get them. there will be a rally today to save the schools. the committee will be holding a meeting with students in the gibbons auditorium. all archdiocese high schools will attend and discuss

enrollment processes for their schools. gibbons is one of the catholic schools in the area slated to be shut down after this school year because of budget issues. a meeting for parents last week, the archdiocese says they just can't keep the school open. :6:05. today's the first day for census questionnaires to appear in your mailbox. jim smith will challenge you to surpass the number of people that filled out their survey in 2000. he says an accurate count is critical to make sure the communities are properly represented in the congress and get an appropriate amount of federal funding. irish eyes must have been smiling on us this weekend. >> the clouds broke just long enough for the 54th annual st. patrick's day parade and 5k run. abc's manny loch has more. [sirens] >> reporter: with that, the st. patrick's day 5k run was on the way with approximately

4,000 runners. some parents ran by giving their kids a high 5, look at this sea of green on charles street. the weather was prime and the 5k race took about an hour to complete. now, the parade.

not a good time to be had yesterday. pretty sloppy this morning. pretty dark considering we have daylight savings time extending the sunrise for an hour. doesn't come up until after 7:00. so we're stuck with the dark and damp weather.

46 degrees, winds north/northwest at 7 miles per hour. wait until you see the latest from maryland's most powerful doppler radar. wait until you see the extended forecast for this week because it does get a lot better. 6:07. let's see what the wet weather is doing to the ride, with kim brown. >> the major roads not looking too bad but as we zoom in, into baltimore city, keep in mind we have police activity on pratt street as you approach president street. that's blocking two lanes. in baltimore county, two lingering crashes, one in essex, rossville boulevard and mace avenue. the other in parkville, that is wilson road at willoughby road so keep it in mind. when we come back, we'll check the major roads including the beltway and 95. back to you. >> i could keep watching that parade. where is it again? coming up next, if you're going through some hard times -- >> one maryland-based company may not be the place to go if you need help. >> the luck of the irish in chicago this weekend as the waterways were running green. >> it's certainly not your

typical doggy treat. why this pooch almost cost an owner thousands.  so, what do you think?

i think i'll go with the preferred package. ( chuckling ) good choice. only meineke gives you options on complete car care, and we'll help you choose what's right for you, your car, and your budget.

at meineke, you're always the driver. when times are tough sometimes you have to take drastic steps to make ends meet. >> but before you take a loan with one baltimore-based company, joce sterman has a warning for you. >> reporter: if you're in a pinch and need money fast this new maryland-based web site claims they are your one-stop shop for an easy loan but signing up may cause more trouble than you think. >> this is a clear case. >> reporter: a clear case the better business bureau is worried could end up costing marylanders. that is the because the web site asks for your social security number to get a loan but there's no sign it's a

secure site. >> that was a red flag to us. >> reporter: the bbb talked to property managers at 25 south charles who say abf isn't there. if you try to call the numbers on their site you won't find them either. we went one step further. we took a direct quote from their success stories on the american dplinnion web site and -- dominion web site and google it. two other companies popped up and their information didn't work either. >> the addresses aren't elect. >> reporter: and bbb expects the other three companies aren't legitimate either. they are littered with spelling problems and since we started to ask questions all their phone lines have gone dead. hopefully soon these web sites won't exist. joce sterman, abc2 news. >> and abc2 is working with the better business bureau. they say contact the host web site to notify them of potential scam possibilities. we're hoping to get to the

sites and shut them down. we'll keep you posted. you can always find more on our web site, abc2news.com. you can follow angie's blog and find out what new scams to watch out for in our "scam alert" section of our web page. 6:14. >> and justin berke. we need some good weather. we really do. >> we need sunshine. >> we get some for the second half of the week. we have to get through this morning. 6:14. an hour from sunrise. that is the tradeoff we have for daylight savings but it will be brighter later in the evening. and eventually when we get the wet weather out of here you will get the improvement to enjoy the second half of the week. 45 now in downtown baltimore. haven't really recorded the rain yet in the bucket but we've recorded the storm total. this weekend 4.43 inches. that is an impressive mark. check out this morning, tempts now dropping. we were holding steady but i think this last band of rain actually brought in cooler temperatures.

we may have to drop our adjustment for the morning hours in baltimore. 41 westminster and bel air. 43 perry hall. 46 middle river over towards rock hall. let's switch over to maryland's most powerful doppler radar. one of the highlights, the heavy rain on the shoreline, yellows, oranges, that is around low pressure lingering off the coast. we'll pull this in closer. we had a band of rain sliding from pennsylvania coming down from the poconos and basically through york, lancaster county. we've got it now on the north side of the beltway, pretty heavy. we had it passing through bel air. looks like the back edge of the rain should probably cut off from this round in the next 20 minutes but roads still wet. we have some wet weather passing through now and heavy rain. rieforts down through pikesville. this is sliding through woodlawn. sliding through 70 and looks like you're going to get some really heavy rain from this batch coming on in towards columbia and on in towards ellicott city. in baltimore, we have this heavy rain band to deal with,

this is the major issue, and localized street flooding. all wrapping around this area of low pressure, throwing moisture back in our direction, winds gusting to 30 miles per hour at times for today. our forecast model highlighting this rainfall and again we may actually break it for a few hours and then reenhance a band of rain pushing through central maryland, as we head through this afternoon at 4:00. so keep the umbrella handy. not a washout like saturday, not dry like yesterday but in between, we'll have periods of rain. then the clouds slide out tomorrow afternoon and improvement. coastal flood watch for high waters and west side of the chesapeake bay today. temperatures get back to 48 degrees but a few more showers and winds gusting to 30 miles per hour. tonight, 38 and tomorrow, back into the 50s with warmer weather to follow. let's check the roads with kim. >> thank you. roads are going to be slick, so definitely take your time. the earlier crashes we had in baltimore, they have since been cleared.

as we peek at the cameras, traffic flowing freely, jfx at northern parkway, really no problems in either direction. just a couple of incidents as we peek also at the drive times. traffic is looking pretty good. the roads leading to the beltway looking good. back to you. time for today's birthdays. let's take a look at who is celebrating today. james from middle river. turning 12 today. happy birthday. lee a junior at towson university. also a member of cappa delta sorority, turns 21 today. a fun night for her. and belated birth day for betty, in the baltimore area, she turned 86 on saturday. happy birthday to all through of you. >> a towson tiger. we want to know if you're having a birthday. send a nice little picture of

yourself, a little information about yourself, who loves you? and send it to morningshow@wmar.com. we'll put it right up here on the air. coming up next -- her nose can help people sleep more peacefully. >> what this canine's sniffing ability can do for you and her owner. >> the snow is gone but it was the win, the rain, that caused problems this weekend. first, let's head up to new york and get the latest in business news from abc.

good morning. we begin the "moneyscope report" with the push for financial reform. chris dodd unveils his proposal today to change the financial industry rules. the bill includes democratic and republican ideas but doesn't have republican support. key features include a consumer protection agency inside the federal reserve with the power to write regulations governing mortgages, credit cards and more. a special council overseeing threats to the economy and government authority to wind down firms considered too big to fail. google set to be ready to shut down its search site in china. a decision expected in weeks now that censorship talks are at an impasse. in january google said it would stop sensoring search results in china because of a series of cyberattacks launched from there. now the company appears to be willing to abandon the site to

save its other businesses. more people falling prey to on-line scams. americans reported losing more than $550 million to internet fraud last year, more than twice as much as 2008. there were more than 335,000 complaints. common frauds, paying for items that are never delivered and making a small payment to receive a windfall that never arrives. a new survey finds most people have no interest for paying for news on-line. those people said they would get their news somewhere else if the sites started charging. "alice in wonderland" ruled the box office again. it took in another $62 million becoming the first $200 million blockbuster released this year. "green zone" was said" she's out of my league" was in third. coming up on "good morning america," a medical miracle. the first double hand transplant. what it could mean for thousands of others.

that's your "moneyscope report."

there must be more to this in the runaway prius story. toyota is set to put holes in that story. >> and a blackout led to all sorts of panic in chile. >> and a rough weekend for all of us but brutal for those living in the northeast. good monday morning.

i'm megan pringle. >> i'm jamie costello. here's justin berk with a look at the weather for today. >> you may want to check the paddles. we have some developments here. maryland's most powerful doppler radar, want to take you there now. with five full sweeps across the region. we take you to howard county. and western baltimore county. we're watching this band of rain that came out of pennsylvania, it slid basically from north-to-south. now as we watch it pass to the south of reisterstown and owings mills it's getting heavier. so from randallstown and pushing just south of eldersburg we've got this thing really picking up along i-70. look at ellicott city and columbia, that is right near our radar site so you can see a little of that kaleidoscope nature to the coloring but basically that is some really heavy rain. these are rainfall rates that are coming down, maybe a half-inch to an inch in an hour's time frame, though the band of rain itself is just sliding through at a faster pace than that. it could drop a quick half-inch soon. ellicott city and columbia getting hardest-hit now though

it extends from brooklyn park and down through glen burnie, rivera beach and heading to green haven, it will be sliding down 70 from the beltway and severna park, arnold gets it next, and this heavy band of rain is sliding around to elkridge. let's show you a loop here. we're watching this band of rain just getting heavier as we speak. we don't have flood warnings now but this is the type of rain on top of what we've already seen that will be clogging up drains and definitely adding big puddles and could lead to localized street flooding. again, it's heading southbound towards glen burnie and severna park. we're watching it from elkridge, columbia, ellicott city but passing through howard county as we speak. and just getting a little bit heavier in the last half-hour. all part of a storm system lingering off the coast and has been plaguing us all weekend. we're just on the back edge and keeps us with the threat of rain all day long. the band this morning coming with 46 degrees in baltimore. 43 easton and winds about 10 to

20 miles per hour. the winds will pick up wrapping around this storm and could be as high as maybe 30 miles per hour this afternoon. follow the our wake-up window at the bottom of the screen for the complete forecast, and we'll talk about that improvement by thursday and friday coming up. lets check the roads with kim brown. >> a lot of that heavy rain actually has a couple of intersections closed in some of the outlying areas because of high water and flooding on the eastern shore in cordova, you'll see lewistown road at road queen anne's road closed because of flooding. elkton, cecil county, delaware avenue and white hall road also cloud because of flooding. you'll see shiny spots, that equals slick this morning on the the jfx and northern parkway. fortunately no major incidents around the beltway or on 95 as you approach the tunnel. no real problems. drive times, not too bad, times are up because speeds are down. on the outer loop between 795 and 70, it will be eight minutes.

and 95 southbound from whitemarsh boulevard to the beltway, another four minutes. and 895 southbound between 95, down to 295 taking seven minutes. only one incident on the roads so far. that is in baltimore city east pratt street approaching president street. some police activity still blocking a couple of lanes there. back to you. 6:29. are you sure? james sikes told us about his prius that got away from him on a california freeway. >> now toyota and safety inspectors are kind of questioning his version of the story. here's abc2 news t.j.wynyk. >> reporter: this morning a congressional memo obtained by abc news suggests it was the american public taken for a ride when james sikes dialed into 911 back on march 8th. >> hello, this is 911. do you have an emergency? >> my car, i can't slow it down. >> reporter: james sikes insists he was unable to stop his prius as the car reached 94 miles per hour along a san diego highway. yet the memo says technicians